GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College cross country teams are looking to defy the expectations for the 2015 season. Both the men's and women's squads open the new campaign on Friday in Salisbury, North Carolina at the Catawba/Chick-Fil-A Invitational.

In the recently released South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Pioneer men were predicted to finish ninth in the upcoming conference championship meet, while the TC women were slated to finish tenth. Tusculum head coach Cory Pratt, who is entering his third season at the helm, believes that both his teams can surprise a lot of people this season.

"The biggest thing we have to do differently this year on both teams is to create a pack mentality where it's not just one person running by themselves up front," said Pratt. "We need to pull two or three more runners up near the front with that top person to lower our team score each week and ultimately at the conference championship. That's what we are going to have to do to take the steps to keep improving the program."

The Pioneer men are coming off an eighth place finish in the 2014 SAC Championship will have to replace David Cooper, who was a three-time All-Conference performer. Headlining the returners for TC is senior Lawson Burrow. Burrow, a native of Greeneville, Tennessee and a graduate of Chuckey-Doak High School, competed in all seven events as a junior and set a new career-best 8,000-meter time of 27:38.47 at the Greater Louisville Classic.

Burrow's top finish of the year was 18th at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational and he was the Pioneers' second finisher in four events last season including both postseason meets. He opened the year with the first of two top-20 finishes last season at the Catawba Invitational and broke the 30-minute mark in three 8,000-meter events.

"We lost our top runner David Cooper to graduation, and that is a huge loss in leadership and performance," said Pratt. "However, I am excited as I watch these younger guys step up. We have Lawson, who is a senior now, and he is taking on more of a leadership role. We also have two sophomores in David and Caleb Cutshall who have worked hard this summer. I'm excited to see what they can do and I believe that they will surprise some people this season."

Jacob Cutshall is coming off a solid rookie campaign. He opened the season with back-to-back top-25 finishes, including a 14th-place effort in his collegiate debut at the Catawba Invitational. He continued his fast start to the year by posting his fastest 8,000-meter time of the season (28:22.87) at the Greater Louisville Classic.

The Jonesborough, Tennessee native and Daniel Boone High School alum recorded sub-30 minute times (8K) in the final four regular season meets and had a strong showing at his first SAC Championship as TC's third scorer with a 42nd place finish (28:41.68). Jacob Cutshall concluded the season by recording a time of 36:59.31 in his first collegiate 10,000-meter event at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.

Caleb Cutshall was Tusculum's second finisher in the first two events of the 2014 season, but an injury forced him to miss the remainder of the year. A native of Fall Branch, Tennessee, Caleb Cutshall finished 11th in his first collegiate race with a time of 30:16 at the Catawba Invitational. He recorded his top time of the season of 28:55.61 at the Hyder-McMahill Invitational and crossed the finish line in 14th.

Senior Erick Koskey ran in the final five events for the Pioneers last year and made an immediate impact. Koskey, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, recorded his best 8K time of the season of 29:03.17 at the SAC Championship and finished 52nd. His top finish of the season was 37th at the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational with a time of 30:03.28 and he opened his Pioneer career by breaking the 30-minute mark at the Greater Louisville Classic (29:27.21).

TC also returns upperclassman Cory Ramsey. The junior from Sevierville, Tennessee posted his career-best 8,000-meter time of 29:45.30 at the Greater Louisville Classic. Ramsey recorded his best finish of the year in the season-opening Catawba Invitational with a 25th place effort after crossing the line in 33:08.

The Sevier County High School alum posted back-to-back 30-minute efforts at the Royals XC Challenge and the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational to close out the regular season. Ramsey also competed in both postseason events for TC and recorded a time of 30:42.99 (8K) SAC Championship and a time of 40:19.74 (10K) at the NCAA Southeast Regional.

TC also returns freshman Jesse Harrell (Bulls Gap, Tennessee/Cherokee High School), who redshirted last season and will look to make his collegiate debut in 2015.

Pratt has brought in two freshmen who will look to make an impact as rookies. Will Noel comes to Tusculum after lettering for three years at T.C. Roberson High School in Asheville, North Carolina.

J'Quen Johnson is a product of Gatlin High School in Gatlin, Tennessee. A four-year letterman, Johnson was a three-time All-County honoree and recorded a career-best finish of fourth twice in the district meet as a sophomore and a senior. His personal-best 5,000-meter time is 17:30.

The Pioneer women return just two letter-winners from last year's campaign that concluded with a 10th place finish in the SAC Championship. However, a new crop of harriers, including five freshmen, have Coach Pratt exited for the upcoming campaign.

"It's always hard heading into the season with just a few returners because they are the ones that the team had leaned on to set the standards and expectations," said Pratt. "We have a few returning runners and they have all had a good preseason. However, we are going to have to rely on some freshmen as well, which is exciting but at the same time it makes you nervous because you have to count on them to be consistent. But if we can get two or three out of that group toward the front of the pack then we can take some steps in the right direction this year."

TC returns its top finisher from every event last season, junior Samantha Vogt. Vogt put her name in the Tusculum record books last year with her new career-best 5,000-meter time of 19:24.60 at the Royal XC Challenge, which was the seventh fastest time in school history. The Maryville, Tennessee native opened the year with her top finish of the season, a third place effort at the Catawba Invitational after crossing the line third with a time of 20:50.

The William Blount High School product earned two more top-20 finishes including a seventh place showing at the Hyder-McMahill Invitational (20:48.32). Vogt broke the 20-minute 5K barrier for the first time in the season with a 19:24.60 at the Greater Louisville Classic. She also returned to postseason competition for the second-straight season and ran a 20:01.56 at the SAC Championship to finish 25th and posted a 6,000-meter time of 25:08.86 at the NCAA II Southeast Regional.

"Samantha has been our top runner in the past two years and I feel that we now have a solid team behind her," Pratt stated.

Also returning for TC is senior Paige Bible. Bible, a Greeneville, Tennessee native and Greeneville High School alum, was one of four team members to compete in all seven events for the Pioneers last season. She posted a season-best 5,000-meter time of 21:58.79 at the Greater Louisville Classic.

Bible's top finish of the season came at the Hyder-McMahill Invitational after crossing the line 36th with a time of 23:52.59. She recorded sub-25 minute 5K times in all but one regular season meet and ran in both postseason races, including the SAC Championship where she finished with a time of 22:05.89.

Tusculum returns a pair of runners that redshirted last season, Sierra Hanson and Pauline Muiruri. Hanson is a freshman from Jonesborough, Tennessee and a product of Daniel Boone High School. For the Trailblazers, Hanson posted a personal best 5K time of 23:17.

Muiruri transferred to TC after spending the 2013 season at Division I Louisiana-Monroe. As a sophomore, Muiruri was named to the 2013 All-Louisiana Cross Country Team and was honored with the Newcomer of the Year award. She was the Warhawks's top finisher in every meet, including a victory in their home event. Muiruri set a personal-best 5K time of 18:58.38 at the Crimson Classic.

The Eldoret, Kenya native spent her freshman campaign at DII Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. She placed 10th at the PacWest Championships and 59th at the NCAA West Region Championship.

"Pauline is a new face when it comes to competing because she redshirted last season, but she is one to watch out for," said Pratt. "I believe that she is going to do some really impressive things this season."

Former letter-winner Ashley Andrukonis returns for the Pioneers after competing for TC in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Andrukonis ran in 11 meets in those two campaigns and her top finish came at the Maryville Invitational as a rookie with an 18th-place effort and a 6,000-meter time of 31:45. She has competed in two SAC Championships and finished 65th as a sophomore with a time of 24:39. Andrukonis is a native of Greeneville, Tennessee and a South Greene High School alum.

The Pioneers' five freshmen will all look to make an impact during their rookie campaigns. Makenzi Alley is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and a graduate of Oak Hills High School. Alley received the team's Most Valuable Runner award following the 2013-14 season and was named the 2015 Oak Hills High School Most Outstanding Female Athlete. She owns a personal-best 5,000-meter time of 19:58.

Also joining the Pioneers is Lindsey Mank. A product of Freeburg Community High School and a native of Smithton, Illinois, Mank is a three-time All-Conference, All-County and All-Area selection. She was a member of four conference championship teams, three regional championships and two sectional championships.

Mank helped Freeburg to a fifth place finish at the Illinois State Championships as a freshman and an eighth place finish in her senior campaign. She owns a career-best 5,000-meter time of 20:24.

Mackenzie Newsome comes to TC after graduating from West Forsyth High School in Lewisville, North Carolina. A three-year team captain, Newsome was a key contributor to West Forsyth qualifying for the 4A North Carolina State Championships in all four years that she lettered. She earned All-Conference honors as a junior and owns a personal best time 5,000 meter time of 19:55.

Deondra Thomas is a native of Columbia, Tennessee and a product of Columbia Central High School. A three-year letter-winner, Thomas qualified for the Tennessee state meet in her sophomore campaign. She received the Queen of Cross Country award as a senior and her personal-best 5,000-meter time is 21:10.

Lillian Wallace rounds out the 2015 freshman class. Wallace is a native of Memphis, Tennessee and a product of Cordova High School.

The Pioneers' 2015 schedule is made up of five regular season meets in North Carolina and Tennessee as well as the SAC Championship and the NCAA II Southeast Regional.

The season-opening Catawba/Chick-Fil-A Invitational will be held at the Salisbury Community Park, the host site of last year's SAC Championship.

TC will travel to Newton, North Carolina for the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational on Sept. 11th. The Pioneer men claimed a second place finish at last year's event in the regular-season finale at Southside Park.

Tusculum will run in two new events this year starting on Sept. 19th at the Carson-Newman Invitational in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Following an off weekend, the Pioneers will be in action on Oct. 3rd at the Hagan-Stone Cross Country Classic in Greensboro, North Carolina. That event will take place at the scenic Hagan-Stone Park wildlife refuge and recreational facility.

TC will close out the regular season on Oct. 24th at the Royals Cross Country Challenge in Charlotte, North Carolina. Queens University of Charlotte will play host to the meet at McAlpine Park, the site of the 2013 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.

The 2015 SAC Championship will be held on Oct. 24th in Ewing, Virginia. Lincoln Memorial University is the host school for the event.

The NCAA II Southeast Region Championship will be held in Wingate, North Carolina on Nov. 7th and hosted by Wingate University. The NCAA II National Championship is set for Nov. 21st in Joplin, Missouri.